Trident defences judged illegal
GAVIN MADELEY
A SHERIFF yesterday made legal history and caused a political storm after ruling that the Government's deployment of nuclear weapons was illegal under international law.
Sheriff Margaret Gimblett cleared three CND protesters who caused £80,000 worth of damage to a Trident nuclear research barge after deciding there was no evidence that they had acted with criminal intent.
A jury at Greenock Sheriff Court was ordered to acquit the women on three charges of maliciously damaging the barge and laboratory equipment at Faslane Naval Base near Lochgoilhead, Argyll, after Sheriff Gimblett ruled they had a right to "disarm" the base.
It is the first time a country's law courts have declared its nuclear defence system illegal, and the political fall-out from Sheriff Gimblett's decision will be felt by other nuclear powers.
Angela Zelter, 48, Ellen Moxley, 45, and 45-year-old Danish national Bodil Ulla Roder, walked free to cheers and applause at the end of a four-and-a-half week trial, estimated to have cost more than £100,000.
They had been held on remand at Cornton Vale Women's Prison since their arrest by Ministry of Defence police at the nuclear base on June 8 after boarding the barge, called Maytime, stealing two inflatable liferafts, and throwing laboratory equipment overboard.
However, Sheriff Gimblett said she had accepted the argument put forward by defence advocate John Mayer, who said Trident was illegal under international law and the women were acting simply to prevent a crime.
Mr Mayer said a ruling by the International Court of Justice in 1996 made Trident and all nuclear weapons illegal, which meant the women had basically committed a crime but were acting to prevent other crimes taking place and so, in Scots law, should be acquitted.
In her judgment, Sheriff Gimblett said: "The three took the view that (Trident) was illegal and, given the horrendous nature of nuclear weapons, that they had an obligation in terms of international law to do whatever they could to stop the deployment and use of nuclear weapons in situations construed as a threat."
She concluded: "I have heard nothing which would make it seem to me that the accused acted with criminal intent."
But addressing the women after the jury had delivered a formal verdict, the sheriff warned them not to regard this as meaning they would be able to carry out such actions recklessly.
She continued: "Yesterday I made it clear that the courts do not allow crimes to be committed to prevent other crimes except in very special circumstances.
"There were such circumstances in this particular case and the same circumstances may not apply to anyone who carries out actions similar to those carried out at Maytime in June.
"You do so at your peril - be very careful."
After the verdict, Ms Zelter, a member of anti-nuclear activist group Trident Ploughshares 2000, called for a full independent inquiry into the legality of Britain's nuclear deterrent.
She said: "Nuclear weapons have always been perceived as unlawful. Although the defence policy is official, it is not legal.
"For the last 50 years, the British government and judiciary have refused to look at the legal facts. They have basically said if it is official, it must be lawful.
"This is the first time we have been allowed to bring in witnesses to fully discuss the issues."
The group also pledged to continue its actions to "disarm" the Trident missile system with direct action against it.
Ms Zelter, who was among four women protesters who walked free two years ago after an attack on a British Aerospace Hawk jet, after claiming it would be used to suppress civilians in East Timor, went on: "Britain is breaking international law at this very moment. This is a people's disarmament movement."
The three activists said they would not continue the direct action themselves, but would support others who did so.
Ms Zelter claimed Trident Ploughshares had more than 140 pledges of support, each representing a person willing to take direct action.
Rejecting suggestions the trial had been a waste of money, Ms Zelter went on: "That is farcical considering the huge amount of money the nuclear arms race has cost the world."
The women told how they had used a leaky inflatable boat to get on to the barge.
They said they had spent five months planning the action and had expected to be quickly intercepted by security at the highly-guarded nuclear base, but had time to have a picnic before being arrested.
Ms Moxley, of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, told the jury: "It felt like getting rid of an incinerator from Auschwitz."
Armed only with a hammer and screwdriver, the three women opened a window, climbed in and started to throw computer and electronic equipment overboard.
Ms Moxley went on:"We knew the DERA (Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) facility was just 500 yards away. We gave ourselves 10 minutes and got three-and-a-half hours. The police pretended not to be embarrassed, but I'm sure they must have been."
Tory politicians later led calls for Government action following the acquittals. Shadow Defence Secretary Iain Duncan Smith called for a full statement from the Government.
"The judgment is quite absurd. What these women have done is immensely dangerous. In damaging our nuclear deterrent, they do nothing but help other regimes who have the intention of harming the citizens of the UK.
"If this judgment stands, then this creates massive problems for those who have been tasked with the security of our nuclear deterrent.
"Given that, we call on the Secretary of State for Defence to make a full statement on this matter as this is a United Kingdom issue, not solely a Scottish issue."
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the ruling until it had studied the sheriff's remarks.
But the Crown Office immediately announced the Lord Advocate Lord Hardie was considering applying for a High Court review of the sheriff's decision and ordered a report to be prepared by the procurator-fiscal at Dunoon.
However, a spokesman stressed: "If the High Court were to rule that the sheriff was wrong, that would set a precedent for future cases, but will have no impact on this case."
First Minister Donald Dewar said later: "The Lord Advocate is the responsible Minister. It is the Lord Advocate's business and it would be wrong for me, I think, to comment on the merits or the substance."
Dorothy-Grace Elder, who is MSP for the Glasgow region and founder of the cross-party CND group in the Parliament, said Sheriff Gimblett's verdict had "stunning international significance", adding: "World history has been made at Greenock Sheriff Court."
She pledged to put a question before MSPs asking about the legality of Trident, although the Scottish Parliament has no power to ban Trident as defence policy is made in Westminster.
"This is a huge blow to Labour and their Trident-based defence policy. Trident is a product of the Cold War, and has no place in Scotland, or indeed anywhere else in the UK, as we approach the millennium.
Scottish CND joint secretary John Ainslie said Sheriff Gimblett's decision had "banned the bomb", adding: "It has put the whole force of Scottish law behind CND's campaign to scrap Trident." - Oct 22
Leader
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----- END OF INCOMING MESSAGE FORWARDED BY BILL SMIRNOW -----
(5) The silly reason we have to do all this is a little document called...:
The little statement contained in this item is one of the main reasons we are now facing a Y2K-related crises, and it is why we face a potential nuclear crises every day.
Between today and New Year's, there are still over 80 "operating years" of activity at the commercial nuclear power plants. There are hundreds more years of activity in all the military reactors around the world. And then there are the dangers from spent fuel pools, waste dumps, uranium mine tailings, the destroyed democracy from the nuclear threat, the destroyed economies, and not to mention, the millions of deaths that have already occurred.
NOW is the time to stop the entire industry dead in its tracks, before it stops us dead in ours. The nukes must be turned off not just for Y2K, but FOREVER! The nuclear weapons must be dismantled. There will be plenty of nuclear engineer careers to fill, so no jobs are threatened. Hanford and a thousand other nuclear waste sites all need new and skilled management. People working at nuclear power plants now are the perfect candidates for these jobs.
NOW is the time to save the planet!
70 days before Y2K is more than enough time for the world to decide to cast out the "demon hot atom" forever!
-- rdh
----- INCOMING EMAIL FROM BILL SMIRNOW: -----
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 00:06:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: smirnowb@ix.netcom.com
To: y2k-nuclear@egroups.com
To: worldwatch@igc.apc.org
To: Ben.pearson@ams.greenpeace.org
Subject: [y2k-nuclear] NRC Mandated By Federal Law To Support Nuke Industry As Premier Obligation
Dear Friends,
This was sent to me by a friend who wishes to remain anonymous. Maybe this is an avenue we in the USA can attempt to publicize and lobby on. Possibly the situation is the same or similar in other countries with nuclear power- it might be worth checking on. The alleged regulators, by mandate, are PROMOTERS of the nuclear industry. In print, in black and white the Atomic Energy Act COMPELLS such promotion. Now whenever the issued of alleged regulation on the part of NRC comes out we can immediately point to the fact THAT THIS IS A TOTAL LIE AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN!
People wanting to awaken their representatives and Senators can do so by calling all 3 of them at: 202-224-3121. Face to face meetings always carry more clout than do calls or letters. Calls and letters to ocal newspapers, TV, and radio stations are important, too. This should be and can be made known to EVERYONE.
We need to keep in mind that the NRC is still, by federal law, directed to be supportive of the nuclear industry as its premier obligation. See the Atomic Energy Act, Chapter I, Section 1. Declaration. 42 U.S.C. sec. 2011.
Unchanged since enactment of the AEA in 1954, it states, in total:
" Atomic energy is capable of application for peaceful as well
as military purposes. It is therefore declared to be the policy
of the United States that --
"a. the development, use, and control of atomic energy
shall be directed so as to make the maximum contribution
to the general welfare,[*] subject at all times to the
paramount objective of making the maximum contribution
to the common defense and security; and
"b. the development, use, and control of atomic energy
shall be directed so as to promote world peace, improve
the general welfare, increase the standard of living,
and strengthen free competition in private enterprise."
[* The term "general welfare" is not defined. The first mention of
protection of health and safety of the public in the Act is found
at Section 2.d. Findings: -- and there, it is stated as equal to
providing for the national interest and the common defense and security.]
For more than ten years, I've been trying, to no avail, to persuade fellow nuclear critics that this Congressional charge to the agencies that engage in and regulate the production and utilization of nuclear energy is a significant roadblock to our achieving truly protective regulation of the public health and safety, not to mention protection of the environment -- or, for that matter, passage of the CTBT.
On the other hand, at Maine Yankee, recently shut down and now entering the decommissioning process, one staunch environmentalist is making some headway with management in obtaining commitment to a clean-up standard that is more restrictive than either NRC's or EPA's decommissioning criteria. Perhaps, with deregulation and restructuring of the utility industry, the CEOs may be changing their intransigence. Then, again, I think of PECO and Unicom (CommEd)....
-Bill Smirnow & [mostly] Anonymous Friend
----- END OF INCOMING EMAIL FROM BILL SMIRNOW -----
(6) United States Government official contact points:
NASA needs to be told in no uncertain terms they have lied too often to the public and we want a SEA CHANGE away from their nuclear policies!
To learn about the absurd excuses NASA used to launch Cassini and its 72.3 pounds of plutonium in 1997, ask them for the 1995 Environmental Impact Statement for the Cassini mission, and all subsequent documentation. At the same time, be sure to ask them for ANY and ALL documentation available on future uses of plutonium in space, including MILITARY, CIVILIAN, or "OTHER" (just in case they make a new category somehow!). To get this information, contact:
Cassini Public Information
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena CA 91109
(818) 354-5011 or
(818) 354-6478
Here's NASA's "comments" email address:
comments@www.hq.nasa.gov
Daniel Goldin is the head of NASA. Here's his email address:
daniel.goldin@hq.nasa.gov
or
dgoldin@mail.hq.nasa.gov
Here's the NASA URL to find additional addresses to submit written questions to:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/facts/HTML/FS-002-HQ.html
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT NASA IS DOING TO YOUR HEALTH.
NASA should never have been allowed to launch monstrosities like Cassini and Galileo (which recently suffered a nine-hour "lost in space" anomoly (NASA calls it "safe mode" which is the opposite of what it really is) just before it did a flyby of Io), but the next breed -- such as Europa Orbiter and Pluto-Kuiper Express are not much better and the policy is being set for greatly increased rates of missions! The danger continues! To complain to NASA about their future nuclear space probes, here are two addresses you can use:
For Europa Orbiter:
Europa Orbiter comments"
osseuropa@hq.nasa.gov
For Pluto-Kuiper Express:
"Pluto-Kuiper Express comments"
osspluto@hq.nasa.gov
Be sure to "cc" the president and VP and your senators and congresspeople, too.
President Bill Clinton
White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20500
Phone -- (202) 456-1111
Fax -- (202) 456-2461
e-mail -- president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Albert Gore
White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20500
Phone -- (202) 456-1414
Fax -- (202) 456-2461
e-mail -- vicepresident@whitehouse.gov
Secretary William Cohen
1000 Defense
The Pentagon
Washington D.C. 20301
Phone -- (703) 695-6352
Secretary Bill Richardson
Department of Energy (DoE)
1000 Independence Avenue SW
Washington D.C. 20585
Phone -- (202) 586-6210
fax -- (202) 586-4403
Always include your full name and postal address in all correspondence to any Government official of any country, because otherwise they will throw it out unread, or hand it directly to their police force to try to identify the author. (Thus, nothing good will come of it.) Also, ALWAYS include a personal message of some sort, indicating YOUR OWN VIEWS, even if you include a lot of material written by other people (me, for instance).
(7) Subscription information:
Thanks for reading! Welcome new subscribers!
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"There can be no democracy without truth, no justice without mercy, and no nuclear dispersals without ill consequences."
(8) Authorship notes and associated links:
**************************************************************
Many of the issues presented by Russell Hoffman in this letter are based on conversations with Dr. John W. Gofman (who isolated the first working quantities of plutonium), the late Dr. Karl Z. Morgan (who was known as the "father of health physics"), Dr. Ernest Sternglass (who has done statistical studies about LLR), Dr. Jay Gould (ditto), Dr. Horst Poehler, Dr. Helen Caldicott, Dr. Ross Wilcock and dozens of activists, as well as many others on both sides of the nuclear debates, including ex military nuke expert Jack Shannon (responsible for the design of the D2G Navy reactor, the most widely used reactor in the U. S. navy), award-winning investigative reporter Karl Grossman, ecologist and human rights advocate Pamela Blockey-O'Brien, etc. Also, I've read a few dozen books on the various subjects. And scads of government documents purporting to explain how something so dangerous can be safe. Professionally, my pump training software is used throughout the pump industry and even in some nuclear power plants around the world to train their staff about mechanical pumps. Any errors herein are regrettably my own, but I believe it would take an extremely unlikely preponderance of errors to invalidate my basic position on these issues.
*************************************************************
Russell D. Hoffman, Carlsbad, California, Peace Activist, Environmentalist, High Tech Guru:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/whoisrdh.htm
Hoffman's Y2K Preparedness Information:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/environm/no_nukes/y2k/index.htm
Learn about The Effects of Nuclear War here:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/environm/no_nukes/tenw/nuke_war.htm
************************************************************
** THE ANIMATED SOFTWARE COMPANY
** Russell D. Hoffman, Owner and Chief Programmer
** Carlsbad CA
** Visit the world's most eclectic web site:
** http://www.animatedsoftware.com
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First placed online October 23rd, 1999.
Last modified October 24th, 1999.
Webwiz: Russell D. Hoffman
Copyright (c) Russell D. Hoffman